2. It has one of the strongest launch line-ups of all time
The PSP’s launch lineup wasn’t that bad, though we'd hardly call it strong. Games like Lumines and Metal Gear Ac!d stood out amongst a long list of forgettable re-releases, making for paltry pickings at launch. The Vita, on the other hand, has one of the strongest launch lineups of any console ever released. Seriously. One of the best. And no, we’re not being sensationalist.
There are a number of impressive-looking sports games like MLB 12 The Show, FIFA Soccer, Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition and the beloved Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational, giving nearly every sports fan something to look forward to. There are also handheld versions of ModNation Racers, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Rayman Origins and Lumines Electronic Symphony.
But the granddaddy of them all is likely Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Nathan Drake has become Sony’s Mario – he’s the company’s Master Chief to gamers. Having an Uncharted game available for launch is just huge. While we didn’t think it could stand toe-to-toe with the console versions (check out our review for more on that), we were still blown away by how close Sony Bend came to replicating the Uncharted experience to the new system. Recently, consoles have been launching without any killer first-party games, and it’s great to see Sony’s biggest mascot hit the Vita on launch day.
1. It has two analog sticks and a touch screen and a back touchpad and a…
One of the biggest complaints from gamers came from the lack of a second analog stick on the PSP. This made shooters, platformers, and console ports even harder to control due to, well, the lack of solid controls. With the Vita, Sony isn’t only including a second analog stick to shut everyone the hell up – it’s including every single control input anyone could ever ask for, just so people stop freaking complaining about it.
We imagine the conversation at Sony’s headquarters went something like this:
“Oh, you wanted a second analog stick? Here you go. That makes sense. And a touchscreen? Fine, that way it can get iOS ports. That’s smart! And a back touchscreen? Wait, what? Whatever. Fine. Motion control, too? For the love of… FINE. Take it. We don’t care. Just leave us the hell alone.”
This not only makes the system capable of handling just about any genre without an issue, but future-proofs it, too. Now Sony can not only swipe console ports, but iPhone and Android developers can bring their games over without making many changes, and the back touchscreen could potentially make for some possible 3DS ports, since you could use the touchpad without blocking the screen. Infinity Blade II as a PlayStation Mini? Yes, please!
